Exotic dancer performs at city hall

Adult entertainers are asking for bylaw amendments and one dancer provided a demonstration of what she does on the job for a city committee.

Members of the adult entertainment industry appeared before the city’s licensing and standards committee Thursday morning, including one worker who brought along a pole for a live dance demonstration.

Committee member Anthony Perruzza said exotic dancers and other representatives of the adult entertainment sector, including a lawyer and a consultant, attended the meeting asking for bylaw amendments affecting burlesque entertainers.

“Dancers came before the committee … asking for a couple of things: one to change or at least consider changing licensing to a form of registration because … the licence is for life,” he told CityNews.

“The other thing is they want us to change the definition of what constituted touching in bars. Because now the way [the] bylaw is worded … is that if someone inadvertently bumps into a dancer and a police officer is present they could be charged.”

A dancer performed a pole dance for committee members. Coun. Gloria Lindsay Luby described it as “an athletic performance.”

Perruzza said the performance was “graceful.”

“It was really a gymnastics show,” he said.

Other councillors weren’t impressed.

“We’ve entered a new low at City Hall. An adult entertainer was just permitted to perform for the Licensing and Standards committee,” Coun. Mike Layton tweeted.

Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday said, “this type of grandstanding isn’t appropriate for a public committee meeting.”

In terms of the requested bylaw amendments, Perruzza said dancers would rather be registered with the city, as opposed to being licensed.

“Later when you move away from [the] industry … people can go back — the licence is for life and they can see you were an adult entertainer,” he said.

Lindsay Luby said the meeting also highlighted a need for Toronto to streamline its rules for strip clubs with other municipalities in and around the GTA.

“There needs to be some kind of harmony amongst us,” she said, noting that Hamilton doesn’t require adult entertainers to be licensed, only registered.

“I’m concerned that everyone should be on the same page. There are grey areas no doubt.”

The committee will wait to make a decision after a staff report on the issue comes back in the fall.